


A House Divided, A House United

by Ladyofwarandmercy



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Civil War (Marvel), Domestic, Future Fic, Inhumans (Marvel), Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-21
Updated: 2015-03-21
Packaged: 2018-03-18 22:45:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3586794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladyofwarandmercy/pseuds/Ladyofwarandmercy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The implications of the Terrigen Bomb, the Registration Act, and the Civil War come home to the Wards.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A House Divided, A House United

Skye could feel the tension when she walked through the door. Obelisk and Diablo, Grant’s and her two cats, were nowhere to be found, and Bud, their black Lab, was way too happy to see her. As she approached the kitchen table, Grant and Terry were looking daggers at one another as each was finishing their beer. With a loud scramble, the door opened in the hallway, and little Hope Jiaying Ward came running out to her mother. “Mommy! Daddy and Terry were yelling, so I put the shoes on!” Both men checked their feet. They were the same size, so they had not actually noticed that Hope had switched their shoes under the table as they were fighting. Hope beamed proudly, as Terry chided her, “Tonks? We didn’t notice!” Skye would have picked Hope up if she were not six months pregnant with her little brother. But she patted Hope on the head, then put her hands on her hips to address the boys. “She’s right. House rules, you know. I’ll give you a minute, and then I’ll start with Grant.” 

One of the homes Skye was placed in growing up had a standing rule: If there was a fight, each person was forced to make the other’s argument to the other’s satisfaction. They called it, “putting the other guy’s shoes on.” With all the controversy over the Registration Act, Skye wished she could swap a whole lot of shoes right now. She had actually seen the Stark press release that morning at work, so she was pretty sure what the fight between Grant and Terry was about. “Okay Grant, it’s your turn.”

“Skye, you know Terry signed the pro-Registration statement today.” Skye nodded and motioned for him to continue. “Okay, his argument is essentially his story. When Kara and I found him in that institution, both HYDRA and Christian had managed to keep Terry off the Index, and HYDRA used an agent who looked like my sister to send Terry on missions for HYDRA. He believes that if Gifted were registered, that SHIELD would at least be able to take precautions to be sure Gifted like him are not taken advantage of like he was. Someone would have at least told Terry that his mother was dead so he would not have hurt a lot of the people he hurt. That is why he favors Registration.” Everyone turned to Terry, who nodded and took his turn.

“Uncle Grant got it right. And his argument is also his and your story. Uncle Grant knows first-hand that an organization like SHIELD is not incorruptible. And Aunt Skye, you know first-hand how a Gift can put a target on your back. Not all Gifts are good in a fight. What happened to your mother, Aunt Skye, was an atrocity. It makes me sick. And you and Uncle Grant think those with less-dangerous Gifts may not get the protection I think they should have. And Uncle Grant and you think that Registration alone can put the so-called Lesser Gifted at risk.” Terry took the last swig of his beer to indicate he was done. Skye and Grant looked at one another and nodded. 

Terry tossed the bottle in the glass bin, and sat back down, arms and legs crossed defensively. Skye went to the fridge, grabbed another beer and brought it to Terry, who relaxed a bit more. Skye took a chair next to her husband, and held his hand. “I actually expected this,” she began, “Long before he actually signed the statement. That’s why I am not mad, or disappointed, or anything.” Grant got up and held his wife in his arms. For this, Grant was walked to the couch, to put his leg back up. “It’s getting crazy out there, Honey. You and that knee need to get better.” Terry walked up to give his favorite aunt a hug. “Yes, we still love you, Terry Bear. Maybe you guys were snapping at each other when you heard about the riot in front of HQ.” Terry sat down in a chair facing Grant. “Actually, Aunt Skye, we started snapping after you called Uncle Grant to say you were nowhere near the riot when we started really going off.” Grant smiled, “That tension needed to go somewhere. Guess I’m just going stir-crazy, or just sick with worry. Believe me, I want to come off medical leave as badly as you want me off medical leave. We’re cool, Terry. I just wish our family could provide a united front. But I guess they wouldn’t call it a Civil War if we could. Cap told me once that the damndest thing was, Stark was a good friend. Skye, can you get me another beer?” Skye gave Grant a dubious look. “How many beers have you had?” “Just the one,” Terry answered for him. “Then I will bring you a Coke and some Tylenol,” Skye corrected, “I know you don’t think the pain is bad enough, but inflammation is going to keep that knee from healing. And we do need you back. It’s not like you can project your Gift from a pair of crutches.” Grant called after her, “They had better not be asking you to contain the riots. Even if your Gift is a nice distance weapon, the occasional rioters have powers of their own that are good at a distance. I know you signed up for that, but Tommy didn’t.” Skye came back with the Coke and pills. “No, it’s generally understood that once the fight breaks out, I am to bug out. My belly keeps me from dodging fireballs. I just wish both sides could disagree as peacefully as we can.” 

Terry shook his head, “Most of them are so new to their powers. The Inhumans who existed before the Bomb just didn’t have the infrastructure to make sure they could train each and every NuHuman who came about after the Bomb. And there is nothing special about having Inhuman ancestors. It’s not something that only happened to good people who can keep the temptation to Use the Hammer in check. Um, Doc Strange likes to use that term. It’s like the Terrigen Bomb gave random people a hammer, and everything started looking like a nail. Even folks who got their powers under control somehow. What is a riot, but a bunch of pissed-off people? If their powers weren’t quite under control, watching their buddy get punched by some hothead is enough to cook them off and hit someone else’s buddy. Boom! You have a riot. It’s happening on both sides, to be honest, but I will say that all Joe Normie sees are a bunch of uncontrolled Gifted rioting in the streets, and that’s not doing good things for the image of Gifted as far as the Registration Act debate is concerned.”

Terry, Grant, and Skye looked at Hope, who was sitting on the floor in the living room, playing with a doll. She had green eyes and curly red hair, like the doll. Hope was a newborn when the Bomb went off, and considering who her parents were, she had transformed. While being able to alter her appearance was an awesome ability, her power, like her poor grandmother’s, would not protect her from someone determined to harm her or exploit her abilities. Heck, his own past proved that even the most powerful Gifted could not stop someone determined enough. Terry was the first non-parent to hold her after her parents broke her out of the cocoon. He nearly dropped her when he looked down and saw his own spiked hair, eyeliner, and piercings on the wide-eyed baby girl. That was when he started calling her “Tonks.” Hope was a precocious little thing, too. She had already started to read the first Harry Potter book. He couldn’t wait for the day she figured out why he liked to call her “Tonks.”

And this was what the fight was really about here at Chez Ward. Hope herself would be okay, regardless. She had all three of them, and their friends to keep her out of trouble. Both Grant and Skye were relieved to know that Hope’s Gift was something unlikely to negatively affect her ability to relate to others. Most of her kindergarten peers found it to be a neat trick, and it wasn’t like she shot lightning or mind-controlled other people. Terry himself gave her rudimentary lessons on how to control her ability, his own Gift being something somewhat close to her own. But there were so many Gifted out there. Little unborn Tommy was unlikely to be exposed to the Mists at a young age like his sister, but he had his own date with an Obelisk coming. His own future was likely to be determined before he was even born. One can always read a history book and wonder what it would be like to live through times consequential enough to be remembered. But the reality is that such times are contentious, scary, and often turn friends and family against one another. It was a lesson all three of the adults in that living room were learning the hard way.


End file.
